Frequently Asked Questions of a Brain Injury Lawyer

Brain injuries are suffered at a rate of approximately one million cases per year, through trauma alone. These are injuries suffered as the result of birth trauma, vehicular collisions, sports injuries, construction site accidents and over means. There are also non-traumatic brain injuries suffered through such means as carbon monoxide poisoning or lead poisoning. Professional lawyer handles many of the above described cases involving brain damage to children and adults. Here are some questions he is frequently asked in the course of his practice.

1. What are some less known symptoms of brain injury?

Head injuries resulting in concussion, mental retardation and amnesia are mostly commonly known results of an injury. However Professional lawyers know that there are many less known, but just as dangerous symptoms that come from traumatic brain injury, and realizing what they are can be very important to getting early intervention and treatment. These include:

a. Visual disturbances
b. Hearing loss
c. Changes in smell and taste
d. Hormonal dysfunction
e. Cranial diabetes

2. How is brain injury caused during birth?

Typically improperly managed labor and delivery is the main cause of traumatic injury in newborns. Obstetrician in charge of delivering the child is charged with closely watching the fetus for any sign of fetal distress. It is vital for the fetus to receive adequate supply of oxygen for his brain to function properly. If problems arise, such as irregular heartbeat or umbilical cord compression on the neck, and they are not caught in time, the failure to monitor may result in brain damage to the infant. Injury lawsuit arising out of trauma to the infant caused during birth needs to prove that the damages to the infant did not arise from unrelated causes such as premature birth or mother's diabetes, but came directly as the result of the doctor's negligence.

3. Why is it so difficult to determine brain injury in a child?

Statistics show that children are more likely to sustain permanent brain damage than adults when equal force is involved or impact is similar. However, it is more difficult to measure the extent of the damage in a child, in case of mild to moderate injury since adults can be tested via I.Q. tests or other psychological criteria, while the children due to their young age may not be as easily tested by objective tests and methods. Furthermore, in children some neurological disability may not show up for many years and is difficult to detect until their frontal lobe function, such as social interaction, or reading and writing skills affected by other parts of the brain, come into play.

An Expert lawyer will explain applicable statutes of limitation for starting a medical malpractice lawsuit against a negligent doctor that caused the injury. Typically, children enjoy a tolling of this statute, meaning that the brain injury lawsuit may be started later than for adult. This of course takes into the account the difficulty in diagnosing an injury in a child and the legislature has taken appropriate steps to make sure the interests of the child are not lost due to severe time limitations.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of brain injury, it is in your best interest to call a qualified New York malpractice lawyer right away. At Duffy and Duffy - brain injury attorney, our brain injury lawyers have the experience to help families whose child has been the victim of brain injury.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Tores
http://EzineArticles.com/?Frequently-Asked-Questions-of-a-Brain-Injury-Lawyer&id=6545522

Brain Injury Lawyer Answering Your Questions

Brain injuries are caused by traumatic as well as non-traumatic causes. An Expert lawyer, in the course of his practice, can represent clients who suffered brain injury by either of the two causes. A lot of clients when they see their attorney for the first time have a lot of questions about brain injury lawsuit and here are some answers to those questions:

1. What is the most common cause of traumatic brain injury?

Motor vehicle accidents account for the majority of this type of cases, followed closely by head injuries due to falls and sports related injury. In cases of car accidents, it is common to sustain a direct trauma to the brain, when the head strikes for example a steering wheel. Although the impact may not cause a fracture to the skill the force of incident can cause bruising of the brain, known as a contusion or internal bleeding (hemorrhage). Professional lawyers who handle car accident cases in their every day practice have seen the devastating effects of injury on their clients, sustained in vehicular accidents, especially if the collision was with a large vehicle such as bus or truck; the client was thrown through a windshield, or struck to the ground from his motorcycle. In these cases having protective equipment such as helmets, air bags, wearing seat belts may not only prevent the person from being seriously injured, but may also save his life.

2. What is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral Palsy is a serious injury often caused during labor and delivery due to some type of trauma to the brain. Unfortunately, many cerebral palsy cases are due to medical malpractice, which likely took place during the birthing process through the negligent acts or omissions of the obstetrician or members of the hospital staff. Here are some ways the infant may sustain a brain injury leading to cerebral palsy due to physician's negligence:

a. Failure to perform a timely and indicated c-section
b. Failure to timely relieve umbilical cord pressure
c. Forceful use of vacuum or forceps to take the baby out
d. Overprescribing of Pitocin, drug used to induce labor

A Professional lawyer is experienced in recognizing signs of fetal distress and by reviewing the medical records documenting infant's birth can determine if the physician failed to take some necessary step to assure a safe birth of a child.

3. What are some non-traumatic ways a brain injury can be sustained?

In the field of personal injury two most common causes a Professional lawyer litigates are carbon monoxide poisoning and lead poisoning. Both are examples of how a non-traumatic brain injury can come about and both, unfortunately, involve injuries to young children. The typical defendant in this type of brain injury lawsuit will be a landlord, who failed to properly maintain, inspect and timely repair the premises where the child lived with his family. A lot of these cases occur in poorer neighborhoods or in neighborhoods with large immigrant population, where landlords, in order to maximize their profits, fail to keep the property up to the acceptable standards, causing it to fall into disrepair. It can occur when a young child eats the peeling paint off the wall or the faulty heater emits carbon monoxide, poisoning the apartment's inhabitants.

An Expert lawyer can help the family understand their rights of recovery against the building owner, as well as sue for medical and hospital expenses necessitated by the injury to their child.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of brain injury, it is in your best interest to call a qualified New York malpractice lawyer right away. At Duffy and Duffy - brain injury attorney, our brain injury lawyers have the experience to help families whose child has been the victim of brain injury.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Tores
http://EzineArticles.com/?Brain-Injury-Lawyer-Answering-Your-Questions&id=6540256

Common Cases Handled by Brain Injury Lawyers

Hiring a lawyer may be the single most important decision for brain injury survivors and their families. When a person becomes brain injured, the entire family suffers with injuries which can be financially, medically and emotionally draining. professional lawyers handle a wide variety of head injury matters and can help you determine if your case is meritorious:

1. Improperly Managed labor

Obstetricians delivering babies are charged with taking appropriate care to make sure that fetal distress is timely noted, analyzed and responded to. Failure to perform a timely C-section, may lead to a child sustaining brain damage and result in hypoxia or cerebral palsy, which are caused by oxygen deprivation during labor. Experts in obstetrics and perinatology working closely with a brain injury attorney can estimate in terms of time, when the C-section was indicated, and testify as to how the prolonged delay resulting in the head injury to the child.

2. Car Accidents

Pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists are often the most seriously injured victims of automobile accidents, because there is nothing to protect them from impact by several tons of metal barreling at them. The impact can cause the victim to fall to the ground, causing bleeding inside the brain and increased pressure, which can lead to permanent brain damage. This leads to lifelong necessity for medical care, loss of income, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of services and consortium by a spouse of the victim. Brain injury lawyers who litigate brain injury cases resulting from car accidents understand that any settlement offers have to take into the account the costs of care for the victim for years to come. Therefore, they will often hire economists to calculate monetary damages they'll seek to recover.

3. Construction accidents

Brain injury at construction work sites take place when employers fail to take necessary safety precautions to protect their workers. These cases arise from workers not wearing proper equipment, such as hard hats, or operating heavy machinery without sufficient training or instruction, Construction sites can also cause serious injury to innocent bystanders, as in cases of scaffolding collapse or over unsecured equipment falling from certain heights. In these cases a brain injury lawsuit on behalf of the worker can only be brought if a third party is at fault, since the employer is insulated from suit under the workers compensation coverage (employee will only be able to collect for lost wages, disability and medical bills).

4. Carbon monoxide poisoning

Daily exposure to carbon monoxide may result in cognitive impairment and brain injury. In residential buildings the landlord is supposed to inspect, maintain and repair gas-fired equipment, such as a heater. Some states also require that a carbon monoxide detector be installed in every rented apartment and checked regularly. However, some landlord fails to live up to their duties and bring the apartment up to code. Continuously emitted CO may lead to headaches, dizziness and vomiting, and chronic exposure can result in irreversible brain damage. Expert lawyers working with victims of carbon monoxide poisoning on the premises will demand that defendant produce all record of inspection, repair and maintenance to determine if they can be held liable for client's injury.

Over a million people sustain brain injury caused by trauma each year. The injury can be suffered as a result of an accident, such as a car collision, medical malpractice or intentional tort, such as assault. In those cases where others are at fault in causing brain injuries, it is critically important the family retain effective legal representation. Choosing the wrong legal strategy can have a significant adverse effect. Your choice as your attorney is one of the most important decisions in your case. Choosing someone who knows how to properly assess a legal case and give an opinion as to your options is the brain injury lawyer you should hire to represent you.

Medical Malpractice Law Firm Duffy & Duffy a wide range of personal injury and medical malpractice matters, which include brain injury litigation. A brain injury lawyers with our firm is experienced in handling a variety of such cases, where brain injury can be caused in either traumatic or non-traumatic fashion.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Martyn
http://EzineArticles.com/?Common-Cases-Handled-by-Brain-Injury-Lawyers&id=6479541